Projects

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08 January 2025

USA - Clear-Com has announced its continued role as the official intercom supplier for the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage at NAMM 2025, taking place 21-25 January at the Anaheim Convention Centre. Known as the centrepiece of NAMM’s vibrant live music scene, the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage will once again feature performances from world-renowned artists and rising talent.

Mastermind Production Group, Clear-Com’s long-time partner, will manage the stage’s audio production, integrating intercom into the setup. “Clear-Com continues to be our first choice for all of our events in the live music and corporate spaces. Their systems are reliable, flexible, and essential in live event production,” said Chad Griswold, CEO of Mastermind Production Group.

For NAMM 2025, the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage will deploy the Clear-Com Arcadia Central Station, a powerful s

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08 January 2025

UK - Cornwall’s Eden Project has transformed an abandoned clay pit into a series of geodesic domes containing biomes that celebrate the rich diversity of nature. The nonprofit attraction drew 1.8m visitors within a year after it opened in March 2001.

This tribute to nature is still going strong, engaging visitors in compelling ways, just as it is doing this year with its Winter Holiday Shows, which take place at its different domes. Artfully designed by Glenn Gridley and his team at GLX Productions, the immersive displays ‘capture the mystical quality of the season when winter light and nature interweave in a timeless transcendent dance’.

Helping the design team achieve this transformative effect is a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures run by two ChamSys control systems with two GeNetix GN10 rack mount nodes for data distribut

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07 January 2025

UK - The Royal Albert Hall in London hosts diverse performances every night of the week. DiGiCo consoles are at the centre of the building’s audio setup, a Quantum 852, Quantum 7, SD10, SD9 and SD11 are all owned by the venue. This ensures continuity for quality of sound, whatever the performance, and enables the audio department to prepare shows in advance, improving workflow during quick daily turnarounds.

Ben Evans has been audio operations manager since 2021. “During 2018, we went out to tender and had a d&b audiotechnik system designed for us, in addition to new network infrastructure,” Evans says. “We have a different show pretty much every day, so our five consoles allow us to prep and rehearse efficiently. When combined with our fibre networking, we can serve our multitude of shows effortlessly.”

Tom Marshall is a sound designer

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07 January 2025

UK - NYC post-punk band, Interpol, concluded the penultimate leg of its world tour with five dates in the UK at the end of the year. The tour celebrated the 20th anniversary of the band’s seminal landmark album, Antics, which the band played in full.

In keeping with Interpol’s image, Ed Warren’s lighting carried a spartan quality which is a work of modern art in itself. The stripped-back design employed 21 Ayrton laser-sourced Cobra fixtures – Warren’s only moving lights – in what Warren terms an “extremely considered and precise” show.

“There was a lot of symmetry going on between all the elements, and paramount to the geometry of it all was to have clean straight beams emanating from above and below,” the lighting designer explains. 15 Cobra were flown on a staggered array of truss fingers over the band

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07 January 2025

UK - An Audient ASP880 eight-channel mic preamp was chosen for the new production studio at Soho House|Soho Works in Dean Street. Consisting of a spacious control room and live room, the studio is tailored to meet the needs of artists, writers and producers and is available to Soho House members.

The equipment was supplied and installed by studio installation specialist, Arcadia Solutions. The live room is cabled directly to the control room patchbay so clients can patch into an array of outboard, which includes the Audient ASP880.

Gavin Miller, owner of Arcadia Solutions explains: “The live room has the space to be able to record up to eight vocals and instruments at one time and Soho House needed an option for a bank of preamps to cater for multi-channel recording. ASP880 was the natural choice.”

Studio manager Sarah Haycox comments:

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07 January 2025

USA - There were many magical moments in Boston’s 7,200-seat Agganis Arena on 14 December as Christmas came early for music fans with the arrival of Teddy Swims' Deck The Hall Ball. 

Contributing to the special mood at the show was a balanced production from the team at Events United led by project manager/systems engineer Chase Clark, which drew on the bright output and colour rendering prowess of 82 Chauvet Professional fixtures.

Rachael Fahey, production designer for the concert, described how the fixtures were used. "When I design a show, I try to give our lighting designers a variety of tools to work with," she said. "Our light director Meg Fiske consistently does a great job working with these lighting rigs with amazing success."

Playing a key role in making the show come alive were 82 Chauvet Professional fixtures from Even

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07 January 2025

Columbia - Esteban Gil Arcila, professionally known as Esteban Tosta, has risen to become a well-recognised reference in the lighting design community of South America. Working alongside stars like Colombian singer Maluma, Esteban turns to Elation’s new lighting technology to fulfil his clients’ vision and create stunning visual experiences that enhance their performances.

“Every show we imagine is tied to the type of equipment we use,” he says, adding, “That’s why the constant innovation of brands, offering new equipment and fresh ideas, is key. This not only facilitates the design but also allows for testing and experimenting with new setups, which boosts confidence when integrating them into the riders.”

Early in his career, working for one of Medellín’s biggest production companies, Genesis Producciones, gave him the chance to wo

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07 January 2025

Europe - DJ and record producer David Guetta is an advocate of K-array’s sound solutions. Guetta first encountered K-array systems in an entirely unexpected way. “I organised a big party for my son, and they told me there would be a K-array sound system,” Guetta recalls. “I was a bit nervous because the space was huge, but I couldn’t believe how incredible it sounded. The clarity and power were astonishing.”

Impressed by the quality and innovation, Guetta was eager to associate his image with the brand, making it an integral part of his weekly residency at Ibiza’s Ushuaïa nightclub.

Working mainly with K-array’s point source Dragon range and Kayman and Mugello line-array loudspeakers, Guetta now includes a full K-array system on his weekly residency. “Every Monday, I use the K-array sound system for my events and e

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06 January 2025

USA - Sphere Entertainment delivered the Sphere New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Lexus – a custom Exosphere content show to ring in 2025 on the world’s largest LED screen. This included a celebration of major cities around the world as different time zones approach midnight, culminating with Sphere serving as Las Vegas’ official countdown to 2025 as part of the destination’s citywide New Year’s Eve fireworks show.

And immediately after the clock struck midnight, Sphere showcased content from Afterlife Presents Anyma The End of Genesys, which played inside Sphere on New Year’s Eve. The Celebration also featured a festive Lexus activation and art from XO Artist UON Visuals.

“Sphere is a global landmark, and we’re excited to be sharing New Year’s Eve with our fans around the world through our Exosphere show,

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06 January 2025

Denmark - Travel up the Jutland peninsula to Denmark’s northwest coast and you find one of the country’s largest and most popular amusement parks, Fårup Sommerland. The park showcases a popular light festival each autumn, Lysfald, which this year ran for 16 days in October and attracted over 12,500 guests per day.

Pivotal in ensuring that the lighting installation ran smoothly were Netron EN6 IP nodes, award-winning data distribution devices by Obsidian Control Systems that played a critical role in managing the large-scale, synchronised lighting display.

Fårup Sommerland is home to seven roller coasters and the country’s largest amusement park water park. Four years ago, in collaboration with AV solutions provider Profox, the park sought to extend its season into the autumn by creating a new attraction – an immersive, park-wide li

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06 January 2025

India - PP Sound Light Productions delivered the soundscape for Mumbai’s India Cocktail Week with technologies from Meyer Sound, DiGiCo and d&b Audiotechnik.

“India Cocktail Week is a celebration of sensory experiences, and sound plays a crucial role in amplifying the audience’s connection to the event. Our goal was to deliver an immersive and consistent audio experience across the expansive festival grounds, ensuring every attendee enjoyed impeccable sound quality, regardless of their location,” says Prasad Parkar, founder-director of PP Sound Light Productions.

India Cocktail Week (ICW) returned for its fifth edition on 30 November and 1 December 2024 at Mumbai’s Jio World Garden.

A vibrant community platform, ICW has long established itself as more than just a festival. It is a melting pot where spi

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06 January 2025

Spain - Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi is the largest indoor arena in Spain, but even this sleek 18,000-capacity venue couldn't contain all the energy and excitement generated by the 19th edition of the annual Los 40 Music Awards held there this November.

First there was the music: with 17 international artists performing 40 songs, the ceremony celebrated virtually every facet of Latin and urban music. There were also the awards presentations – and this year an extra dimension, as Los 40 served as a telethon, partnering with The Red Cross to raise money for those affected by the 2024 Spanish floods.

Designer Alain Corthout with help from operator Timothy Demets supported the various dimensions of Los 40 by serving up a range of lighting looks that were equally at home pulsating to the music of performers like Rauw Alejandro, Ana Mena, Lola Índigo,

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06 January 2025

Mexico - The newly inaugurated Potosí Arena stands as a symbol of innovation in support of culture. With a capacity of over 20,000 people, this venue is set to host concerts by national and international artists and various sports and cultural events. The governor of San Luis Potosí, Ricardo Gallardo, officiated the opening of this new space, which is expected to boost the city's tourism and economic appeal after 23 years without a venue of this scale.

The construction of the Potosí Arena took approximately 22 months and involved more than 4,000 tons of steel. This arena was designed and built entirely by engineers and architects from the University of San Luis Potosí, making it a testament to the ingenuity and capability of its local talent.

The lighting system installation played a key role in the arena's opening, combining advanced technology

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06 January 2025

UK - Blue Thunder Sound provided full production for the London Film Music Orchestra concert at St Paul's Cathedral, using over 200 lighting fixtures, including 102 Prolights Smart Bat units.

Blue Thunder Sound strategically placed the lighting fixtures to enhance the architectural features of the cathedral, minimising cable runs by employing wireless signals for lighting and audio control. The setup focused on achieving stunning stage effects without the use of haze machines, utilising the power of the Smart Bat to create an immersive visual experience that highlighted the historical beauty of the structure.

"The Prolights lighting system played a crucial role in transforming St Paul's Cathedral into an immersive space, emphasising every architectural detail with extraordinary precision," commented the Blue Thunder Sound team. "Thanks to the flexibi

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06 January 2025

USA - The McAllen Holiday Parade presented by H-E-B helped kick off the festive season in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. This nighttime holiday parade featured over 60 illuminated floats, 38 larger-than-life character helium balloons, 16 school bands and dance teams, and appearances by international and local celebrities.

The 2024 theme, Noche Mágica (Magical Night), was hosted by TV personalities Mario Lopez and Julian Gil, with special guest appearances by players from the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

This year’s parade drew over 265,000 attendees along the 1.5-mile route, with over a million more television viewers. It began at the McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, where spectators of all ages filled the stands for an evening of entertainment.

When approached for the project, Jeff Krebs, presi

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06 January 2025

Germany - Founded in Ibiza in 1973, the international club brand Pacha has had a presence in Munich’s city centre since 2000. As is the case for its other sites around the globe, the Munich venue regularly hosts world-famous DJs from the techno and house scene including Sven Väth, Fat Boy Slim, DJ Hell, and Carl Cox. Naturally, given the club’s status, its audio system is of the utmost importance.

Munich-based TAPS Media has been responsible for Pacha’s sound technology for two decades and was recently involved in an upgrade to the venue’s system which relied on Coda Audio’s HOPS (high output point source) range of loudspeakers.

The TAPS team, led by managing directors Alexander Mayr and Manfred Heilmaier, installed a comprehensive system comprising six HOPS12i-Pro three-way dual 12” units, eight HOPS8i two-way dual 8”, and three G15-S

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06 January 2025

South Africa - Lifted – Let the Blind Sing returned by popular demand this season, playing at the South African State Theatre in the capital, Pretoria, with video mapped imagery driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer Media Servers.

The production and visuals have been designed by Wilhelm Disbergen – a multi award-winning production designer designing theatre productions for more than 20 years – who was appointed to deliver a dynamic visual backdrop for the show. The staging features a white cyclorama with suspended plastic corrugated sheets that are painted white, adding visual texture and an unusual projection surface, onto which Disbergen is projecting content using a 12,000 lumen Panasonic PT-RZ12K laser projector.

Zakhele Mabena, band leader and composer on many of the biggest theatre musicals staged at the South African

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06 January 2025

USA - Diana Kesselschmidt is creating a captivating setting for the Winter Village at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan this season with a richly coloured lighting design at the popular attraction’s 17,000 sq.ft ice skating rink.

PRG supplied over 100 Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 95 Colorado 2-Quad Zoom LED Wash lights, and eight Ovation E-260WW ellipsoidal units for this transformative display.

“In addition to performance, weather resistance was key to selecting fixtures,” said Kesselschmidt, of Diana K studio. “The fixtures are out for an extended time in New York City. Also, all the cabling to the towers gets loaded in about a month ahead of time, before the deck is put in, so there is no access to those cables once the deck is in place. Some years we focus outdoors during a hurricane. Many years I have focused on full weather g

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06 January 2025

Germany - For more than 40 years, Germany's Wige Solutions has been providing companies with event technology for corporate events, as well as advanced broadcast solutions, dynamic live graphics, and millisecond-precise timing for sporting events. To achieve this, the company operates its own digital studios at its headquarters in Bonn-Meckenheim, equipped with live control systems and specialized, high-speed cameras.

The company often works on-location and its on-site teams have found Elation’s KL series of full-colour, high-CRI LED Fresnel lights to offer the flexibility needed to meet a wide range of on-camera requirements. After years of successfully using the popular KL Panel, Wige Solutions expanded its inventory in early summer by adding Elation’s KL Fresnel 8 FC, a powerful full-colour softlight featuring a 500W RGBMA engine. They then sought a s

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20 December 2024

UK - The University of Manchester's Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama has long been a cornerstone of the institution’s performing arts and education programmes. Home to two key performance spaces, being the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall and the John Thaw Studio Theatre, the Centre recently underwent a significant AV upgrade to meet evolving teaching and performance needs.

The project was led by Stage Electrics, a trusted audiovisual partner of the University for over two decades, in close collaboration with British loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics. The focus was on integrating high-quality audio systems tailored to each space to improve the audio experience for students, faculty, visiting performers and audiences alike.

Stage Electrics was tasked with upgrading the trusted existing EM Acoustics audio systems to match current standards and

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20 December 2024

UK - A heartwarming Christmas story told through projection-mapped animations in the run-up to Christmas is being driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer Media Servers onto the façade of The Queens Hotel in Leeds.

The animation, To Leeds, With Love, is brought to the city by LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District). It is a reimagining of The 12 Days of Christmas song, featuring a cheeky gingerbread man who is on a mission to decorate the hotel for a festive party.

Two Hippotizer Karst+ MK2 Media Servers are powering video onto the front of the historic hotel via seven Panasonic projectors – five RQ50K, one RQ25K, and one RZ21K, with one other RQ50K backup being stored off-site in the event of a hardware issue. They are positioned in two 7.5m tall towers constructed in Leeds City Square, in front of the hotel buil

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20 December 2024

UAE - Prolights fixtures shone brightly over the Swan Lake on Ice performance by The Imperial Ice Stars, held at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. The award-winning show captivated audiences, blending Tchaikovsky's timeless music with breathtaking visual displays on ice. Lighting, designed by Level Production, played a crucial role in creating a visually stunning atmosphere on the skating rink.

For the lighting setup, Level Production collaborated with Pro Lab, the Prolights distributor for the MEDA region, selecting a range of fixtures that included Astra Wash19Pix, Astra Hybrid420, and RA2000HB Profiles from Prolights. These fixtures were chosen for their exceptional versatility, delivering the perfect balance of lighting power, colour precision, and creative flexibility. This ensured a uniform illumination across the entire rink, enhancing the v

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20 December 2024

USA - The Latin Grammy Awards celebrated its 25th anniversary in a big way on 14 November, putting on a glittering show that was impressive even by the exalted standards of awards festivals. Every genre in the galaxy of Latin music shined at Miami’s Kaseya Centre, which resonated with performances by Marc Anthony, Pitbull, Eladio Carrión, Becky G, Sivia, DJ Khalid, Luis Fonsi, Jon Bon Jovi, and multiple other artists.

For Tom Kenny and the rest of the lighting team (LDs David Convertino, Felix Peralta and Joseph Vineyard), creating distinctive looks that reflected the individual musical personas of all these performers in the three-hour live broadcast show represented a challenge.

"We had to come up with a lot of looks over the course of the show, so the flexibility of our rig was key," said Peralta. "We usually end up doing 18 to 25 music perform

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20 December 2024

UK - With a capacity of 700 and located in the heart of Bilston, The Robin is one of the West Midlands’ premier live music destinations. Opened in 1998 and staging more than 20 shows a month, the popular venue hosts a varied programme of artists, including well-known names, up and coming original bands, and leading tribute acts.

Given its packed schedule, it is essential that the venue’s audio provision is of a high standard in order to cater for the variety of styles on stage and cope with the rigours of prolonged daily use. With this in mind, events manager Chris Meddings keeps all the venue’s technical requirements under constant review, and recently took the decision to upgrade and modernise the Robin’s amplification, choosing XTA amplifiers to replace the existing units:

“Our house rig is an excellent, tried and trusted EAW system, com